Paranoia, Suspicion, & Government Infiltration
by Meg
Paranoia,
Suspicion, & Government Infiltration
I’d like to start off this
article with a quote from an unknown source: "A little
paranoia is a good thing." Having stated that, I’d
like to say that things seem to be getting quite out of hand.
Running a
Self-Reliance/Survivalist (SR/S) web site, founding a survivalist
group called "Rocky Mountain Survival Group," and
having been involved in SR/S activities for some years, I, too,
have noticed a number of clicks and splurts on my telephone line,
from time to time. I get at least two phone calls per day in
which nobody says anything on the other end, and I have remote
computers attempting to dial-in to my system. Now and then, I
notice the occasional non-descript vehicle in my rear view
mirror, as I tool about town. I even get mail & packages that
I didn’t ask for, or that aren’t addressed to me.
But guess what? I noticed or
received all of these things, long before I ever started becoming
visibly involved in SR/S! It’s called "life,"
people, and weird things sometimes happen that have no covert or
hostile significance. God help us if it ever stops - for life
would become exceedingly boring!
I suppose it would help if I
didn’t consistently buy the cheapest telephone I can find,
but so what? A little mystery can be a good thing, too! Besides,
I’ve got nothing to hide that I wouldn’t freely discuss
with any proper government agency official presenting themselves
with the appropriate court-ordered documents. I’m too busy
to be paranoid! Let them listen-in all they want, if that’s
what turns their crank. But who’s to say it’s really
"them," and why should I care, either way?
I know, I know – all of you
folks who think you have the right to privacy just stood up in
front of your computers and screamed your entire vocabulary of
derogatory terms at the screen. I didn’t hear it, but I know
you did it. I believe in the right to privacy, but I also know
that there’s very little I can do about it, if the
government wants to abuse it. I’m not going to spend
hundreds (or thousands) of dollars "protecting" my
phone lines with gadgets and gizmos. I just don’t see the
point. Nor will I waste my breath protesting the infringement of
this right to some bureaucracy that is going to smile
benevolently at me, assure me that this sort of thing never
happens, and then go on doing business as usual. I am a realist,
not an activist.
The cheapest reliable car on the
market, these days, is the mid-sized, zero option, plain package
(non-descript) Chevy, Dodge, or Ford. Naturally, there are going
to be millions of them on the road at any given time.
Corporations use them, government agencies use them, and –
you guessed it – I use one. They are cheap, comfortable, and
fairly reliable. That’s why they sell! Simply
noticing one in your rear-view mirror does not mean you are being
tailed by the feds. Somebody is always following you
– and chances are, they’re in a humble vehicle. Look
around your neighborhood. Unless you’re living on Mercedes
Row or in the BMW Village, chances are that every other neighbor
owns one of these cars. Now, if they are following you into your
driveway…
One of the acquired skills of the
self-reliant survivalist is an awareness of his surroundings with
an attention to detail a bit more developed than the average Joe.
This is a very valuable survival tool – provided it is
coupled with an equally developed ability to discriminate and
evaluate the details we perceive. Automatically equating every
coincidental occurrence as a threat is counter productive, and a
little pathological. Survivalists develop their skills in order
to operate efficiently in any manner of situation. Sustaining a
constant state of paranoia/emergency is not exactly efficient.
The true survivalist is able to
accept their surroundings and evaluate their situation in a
relaxed and rational manner. This enables them to think clearly
and develop ongoing strategies to improve their situation. Being
constantly on guard and constantly worrying about what everybody
else is doing will not only give you ulcers, but may prevent you
from thinking about what you should be doing.
Turning your head every which way in an attempt to see who is
following/watching you will only give you a stiff neck, a
constant headache, and lead to severe eyestrain. It’s rather
difficult to concentrate on your environment (and the possibly
real dangers) when you’re too busy trying to notice
who’s noticing you. Take a chill-pill and learn to relax.
You’ll feel better - trust me.
The Dreaded "Government
Infiltrator"
Now this is just a bit too much.
If you’ve got C-4, thermite, mortars and rocket launchers
stored in your basement, I don’t want you living next door
to me. If you’re planning on killing someone simply because
you don’t agree with their politics, their religion, their
sexual orientation, or the color of their skin, you are
friggin’ insane, and I don’t want you living next door
to me. As far as I’m concerned, if you fit these profiles
(and a few others I can think of, with disgust), then you deserve
to be infiltrated, caught, tried & locked up! Quit your
whining.
You can think and learn all you
want, and I won’t mind a bit – save to disassociate
with you as far as possible. You’re not my kind of people
and you’re decidedly NOT survivalists. Your actions invite
destruction and elimination. They scream out for it.
Last I heard, intellectual
knowledge was not illegal. If you think you are going to need
claymore’s and rockets if/when civilization decides to exit,
stage left, then by all means – learn what it takes to
produce them. Nobody can fault you for knowing how to do
something, and I certainly won’t. But when you start making
or stockpiling dangerous explosive materials in your kitchen
cupboard, or basement, or garage – or whatever –
I’m afraid I’ve got to draw the line. You don’t
need this stuff now! If things really do get bad enough to where
you feel you need them, there will be plenty left lying about to
scavenge for everyone. Do yourself (and the rest of us) a favor
and forget about it.
As far as I know, there
wasn’t any law against associating with like-minded
individuals engaged in activities that pose no direct physical or
fraudulent threat to others. You can delude yourselves and spew
your hateful diatribe all you want - and any number of civil
rights organizations will flock to your side to defend your right
to make a blithering idiot of yourself. I don’t have to like
it. That’s MY right and MY choice. But when you start
planning to hurt others simply because they don’t look,
think, or act the way you think they should, then you need
to be watched. Planning and action have a funny way of following
one another. Should you start to act on your ridiculously
irrational plans, you need to be put down – swiftly, and
with whatever amount of force is deemed necessary.
A true survivalist organization
has nothing to fear from government infiltration – and much
to learn from the infiltrators themselves. The government
doesn’t send idiots undercover into what they view as a
potentially dangerous situation. These people are bound to be
intelligent and resourceful. Once they see that your organization
poses no threat to the government or other folks, they may even
be interested in joining the group as a bona fide member - one
who stands an excellent chance of becoming one of the
group’s best assets.
A well-prepared survivalist can
sustain himself on little more than his wits and skills. A group
of well-prepared survivalists does not have the need or desire
for stockpiles of heavy weapons and munitions. In a
post-catastrophe world, the greatest threat will be starvation,
disease, and the wannabe Rambo survivalists/marauders. Better to
stock up on food, medicine, medical and survival training, than
arms, munitions, and paramilitary training. The Rambo-types can
be dealt with through evasive actions and intelligent defensive
tactics requiring little more than primitive techniques and
equipment. Sooner or later, these groups will butt their thick
heads together and wipe each other out. The remainder can be
dealt with at that time. Knowledge and intelligence are as much a
key to survival as are individual ability and skills. They will
always prevail over crude force and reliance upon weaponry. And
they aren’t illegal to "own."
If you are worried about
government infiltrators, then you had better re-evaluate your own
survival potential. Chances are, you are relying too heavily on
the wrong skills and the wrong equipment.
An Exception Which Proves
the Rule:
The only caveat to this is the
"agent provocateur." This is an operative sent into
your midst to compel a desired (usually illegal) action or foment
dissention within the group. Either method results in the sure
and quick dissolution of the group by death, imprisonment, or the
more insidious lack of direction and faith in the group’s
ability to survive a catastrophic event. Why anyone would want to
do this to a good-faith survivalist group is anyone’s guess
– but there it is. It happens. It’s the one thing you
really need to guard against. I’ll post an article on this
at a later date.
For now, I’ve said my piece,
and feel a whole lot better for it. I’m certain this article
will dredge up a great deal of witty repartee designed to
increase my vocabulary. So bring it on, I can take it. Please
don’t expect a response to anything but reasoned rebuttals
or praise. I promise to read each and every response, though, as
I’m sure it will be most amusing.
Meg.
5 May 1998
Comments on this editorial can be sent to Meg.
